Adenoidal width and HIV factors.

PURPOSE To determine the factors that correspond to adenoidal hypertrophy, often prominent in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients.

METHODS The sagittal T1-weighted MR images of 21 HIV-positive patients (age range, 25 to 50 years; mean, 37 years) and 21 healthy control subjects (age range, 24 to 55 years; mean, 35 years) were reviewed blindly and independently by two radiologists who measured the maximal dimension of the nasopharyngeal lymphoid tissue. Twenty-six additional HIV-positive patients were combined with the original 21 HIV-positive patients, and the hematologic studies of these 47 patients were compared with the adenoidal measurements to assess whether a relationship existed between nasopharyngeal prominence and hematocrit, white blood cell count, and CD4 count.

RESULTS Mean adenoidal width was 6.76 mm (SD, 5.82) in the HIV-positive population, but was only 3.36 mm (SD, 2.48) in the age-matched control group. Age and HIV status correlated with nasopharyngeal width measurements. No relationship between adenoidal width and hematocrit, CD4 count, or white blood cell count was evident.

CONCLUSION After correcting for age, we found that adenoidal lymphoid tissue is more abundant in HIV-positive persons than in control subjects. The hematologic ramifications of this finding remain uncertain.